Where You Wanted to Go
by GreenEyedLiz
Summary: He complained that she never took him where he wanted to go, and she replied that she always took him where he was needed. What if for once she took him where he wanted to go, but he didn't know that he wanted to be there yet? Everything happens for a reason, even landing in a little subdivision outside of London.
1. Smallest House in the Neighborhood

_Note from author: Hey, guys! This is my first attempt at an all-out fanfiction story, so please be kind. I really hope you enjoy it. Just a few notes before we go on: There will be Sherlolly. Sorry that I am terrible with summaries. Story gets better as it goes. Also, at the moment this is meant to be the Ninth Doctor, but it will eventually be Ten, then it will be Eleven. I will add the character thingies when I get there. WARNING: Plot twist ahead. ;)_

* * *

The Doctor rushed into the TARDIS as quickly as he could without tripping over his own feet, and pulled the doors closed behind him. Despite his speedy use of the door, smoke had drifted into the large, futuristic room as well as dust and some terrible musty smell from the planet he was currently leaving.

His nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell but moments later, a snarky smile replaced his grimace. "Maybe next time, if it isn't too much to ask," He said using his sweetest, although irritated, tone as he tried to even his heavy breathing and calm his racing hearts, "you could take me somewhere nice and sunny?"

Obviously, there was no response but he knew she had heard him. "Don't be offended, but the Dark Planet was not very fun. Full of adventure? Of course, but also very damp and… dark!"

When he finished complaining, there was a banging at the door behind him. The Doctor took this as his queue to move over to the control panel and begin carelessly pressing buttons. "Come on, you sexy thing, let's get a move on."

He left the panel for a moment, and went around searching for something. "Ah-ha! There you are."

The hammer, which he had found on the opposite side of the room, seemed to move all around the ship, making it nearly impossible to find half the time. It was absurd how he, the last Time Lord in existence, could so easily forget where he last sat the bloody thing.

He laughed to himself as he walked back towards the panel, "Here's to hoping for somewhere, well, not here." Then he slammed the hammer down onto the panel, and within moments, the TARDIS was off.

* * *

It was not long before they landed again, this time they were back on Earth, and it was in fact sunny.

When the Doctor stepped out of the police box, he noticed that it was summer, there was a warm breeze and the sunlight almost blinded him for a moment. He continued walking away from the box, all the while grumbling about the Dark Planet and its lack of light and overall dampness, eventually rambling off onto a different topic.

Once his eyes had adjusted, he found himself in a quaint little subdivision. "Why would I be brought here? Everything seems as it should, but then again," There was barely anyone around to notice the strange man talking to himself, and the men out mowing their lawns were not paying him any attention, "it always begins that way."

He sighed deeply and whipped out his sonic screwdriver, beginning his search for anything potentially troublesome. Nothing serious reared its ugly head at first, but when he did catch the trail of something, it led directly to one of the smallest houses in the neighborhood. There was an old car in the driveway, and you could hear people moving about inside the building.

Someone definitely lived here.

Casually, he walked up to the front door, lifted his fist, and knocked. This doctor was very accustomed to house calls.

He had to wait quite a while before someone answered the door. And when it did swing open, he was met by a tall, lanky woman with brown hair and brown eyes who was holding at least five boxes. As she struggled to hold all the packages in her arms her appearance screamed average, but for some reason the Doctor found her to be extraordinary.

Average people were always the best heroes in the end, and she just seemed like the type to save the entire world by simply smiling at someone.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she tried to keep all of the boxes from falling, "Terribly sorry, but would you mind?" Her question came fast, but luckily the Doctor was ready when she handed the large box to him.

Through the clear plastic on the top, he could see a large cake inside the box. It was simple, and obviously store bought. In large curly-q letters the words, "Happy Birthday Molly!" were scrawled across the top with purple icing.

"Not at all, ma'am. Glad to be of assistance." The Doctor replied easily before the woman began to walk off, around the house, and towards the backyard, "Would you mind bringing that back here?" She asked again as she glanced back at him with a hopeful yet apologetic smile.

"Course not, might as well be helpful since I've obviously interrupted something important."

The brown haired woman laughed softly, the noise carrying through the air and ringing out like a bell, "Well, at this age, birthday parties are the most important thing, you know. Little ones've got to show off for their friends and all."

He grinned and simply nodded as they reached the backyard, which was where the party was being held. Children were everywhere; some were running around, others sat at the plastic tables, and the rest were cheerfully climbing on the one tree that sat in the middle of the yard.

The Doctor followed his orders, and set the cake down on one of the tables, and the woman carefully placed all of the other boxes she was carrying on another table, "There we go!" She said with a prideful grin, "Now what was it that you wanted before I dragged you back here and forced you into helping me set things up?"

His eyes continued to glance around the yard before actually responding to her question, in all that time he had not remembered to think up a nice story to tell her, "I'm an officer, ma'am. There have been rumors of attempted robberies on this street, and I was just keeping an eye on things."

While he was talking, his hand had slipped into his pocket to retrieve his psychic paper.

She appeared to believe him after glancing at what he could only assume she saw as a badge or some kind of identification. "Oh," Her smile faded away and was replaced by worry, "really? I haven't heard anything from the neighbors. I hope no one's been snooping around the house. Oh, dear."

Her eyes glanced over to a group of children who were sitting in the grass and picking little flowers to make into necklaces. He followed her gaze and found one of the girls in the group was wearing a party hat that said "Birthday Girl!" on it. That must be Molly, he thought to himself.

She was very small, almost the smallest child at the party. Her light auburn hair was pulled back in two braids, each with a purple ribbon at the end, which matched her dress as well as the icing on her cake. It must be her favorite color, he thought again aimlessly before his mind returned to the adult standing in front of him.

"Well, I could stay around the party for a bit longer to make sure all the kids are safe, if you'd like?" He offered with a friendly smile, in a way he was telling the truth. Something had to be wrong here, or else the TARDIS would not have brought him here, meaning the children did need protection.

"Oh, that would be terrific! Thank you, mister…" She paused for a moment realizing she had not read the name on his I.D., badge, or whatever it was that she had seen. Her eyes glanced back to the blank paper, "Toby Davis. I knew a Toby once; he was a good mate of mine. I'm Sydney Hooper. That's my girl Molly over there." Sydney pointed towards the girl the Doctor had spotted earlier with the party hat on. He had absolutely no idea why she had seen that name on the paper, but as long as she believed that it was real, it didn't matter.

"This is her party, she's turning six today." Her brown eyes seemed to brighten when she spoke of her daughter.

"Well, Mrs. Hooper, it is 'Mrs.' isn't it?" Sydney nodded and tapped the ring on her left hand, "Mrs. Hooper." She agreed before he went on, "Mrs. Hooper, I'll do my best to make sure it's a safe one."

"Please, Toby, call me Sydney."

"Sydney," He began for the third time, "I'll do my best to make sure it is a fantastic one." This made her laugh, and she thanked him again, before leaving him to attend to his business.

There was still no sign of whatever it was he was looking for by the time they had cut the cake, and the Doctor was getting impatient. He eventually grabbed a chair from one of the plastic tables, and dragged it out into the yard so he could sit and think.

His eyes stayed focused on the grassy ground as he rummaged through his brain. He must be missing something; there had to be something out of place, something that could trigger an idea in his mind.

"What are you doing?" His head shot up from the ground when he heard a small voice in front of him. It was the birthday girl herself, little Molly Hooper.

"I'm looking after your party." He replied a bit too defensively.

As he watched this little girl, a strange feeling began to rise up inside his chest. She seemed so familiar, although he was positive that they had never met before.

Molly's little face tilted slightly to the side, "Why?" she asked curiously.

A short chuckle escaped him, "Your mother asked me to make sure everything was safe, I'm a police officer."

Her eyes grew wider for a moment, before she forced herself to become very official and serious, "Do you have a badge? Can I see it?" She held her hand out for it expectantly.

The Doctor nodded and handed the psychic paper to the six-year old. She appeared to be inspecting it, but he bet she did not know what most of whatever she saw meant. "M-hm. I see." She mumbled to herself, trying to make him think she knew what she was doing, then she handed it back to him, "I'm Molly Hooper, what's your name?"

Apparently the badge had earned him her trust, "My name is… Toby." It seemed only proper that everyone at this party think that he was the same man.

Molly's lips stretched to form a smile before she took a seat on the ground.

"Molly, do you know that feeling you get when you meet a stranger, but you feel like you've known them for a very long time?"

Her face tilted off to the side again at his question, "You mean like when you meet a new friend, and you know that you're going to be the very best friends for a very long time?"

His brows furrowed a bit at the child's response, she seemed extremely clever for her age. "Exactly, and you know what Molly Hooper?" She sat up a bit straighter when he said her name, and leaned forward as if he were about to tell her a secret. "You are the most familiar stranger I have ever not met."

Molly burst out into a fit of giggles, and was about to reply when her mother called out that it was time for presents.

She stood up, and right before she ran off, she looked back at him and smiled her stretched little grin again, "Does that mean we are going to be best friends, Toby?"

The Doctor stood up from his chair and nodded, "I think so."

The little girl laughed again, then ran off to open her presents. He watched her quietly, and saw a man come out of the house.

Sydney quickly scurried over and gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek, and when Molly saw him, she ran over and jumped into his arms. He knew that it must be Mr. Hooper.

After checking the sonic once more, he decided that the TARDIS had made a mistake, and with the father back home from work, or wherever he had been, everyone would be perfectly fine. Without saying a word to anyone, he left the party and returned to his box. "Well, old girl, we all make mistakes sometimes. Onwards and upwards."

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_Well, there's the first Chapter. I would like to thank you for reading my story! Never fear, for there is more to come!:D xoxox_


	2. Happy Birthday, Hooper

_Note from author: Hello again! Here is the second part/chapter/thing. Haha._

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A normal Earth year is difficult to measure while traveling throughout time and space. Sometimes it only takes one trip for a year to pass, but other times it can mean taking many individual journeys. It all depended on the circumstances of the adventures, and even the Doctor hadn't completely figured it out yet.

This time he had been to the moon and back, literally.

Helping establish peace between the human race and the Moon People was simple compared to ending World War III twice. He also saved a cat that was stuck in a tree, but he would never admit to it. That was just too cliché for his taste.

After having taken a stop in America, the Doctor returned to the TARDIS without a care in the world, this world at least.

"Where to next, sexy?" His voice echoed through the lonely metal room as he pulled a banana out of his jacket pocket and began to peel it. He paused politely, although she would not reply.

"Alright, surprise me then." Taking a bite of his banana, he started the very technical process of pressing any buttons that he pleased.

These days he didn't have very much to do other than fly the TARDIS and follow wherever its new location led him. It was beginning to get very quiet, with no one else around.

The Doctor sighed deeply, and the blue police box was off to another spot in time and space. "Around, and around, and around we go. Where we stop, nobody knows!"

* * *

Later when he stepped out of the police box, he was met by a familiar warm breeze and flash of bright sunlight. Once again he found himself in the small subdivision that little Molly Hooper lived in.

This place had faded away into the back of his mind along with all the people he had met here during his time away. Why should he have remembered it? His first stop here had been a mistake; there was absolutely nothing here for him, so why was the TARDIS bringing him back?

There had to be a reason. There was definitely something he needed to find in this time. Who knows? That thing, or perhaps even that person, could be what saves the universe one day. It was impossible to know at this point, but he couldn't wait to find out.

Sometimes he wondered how he could be so oblivious to the most obviously obvious things.

"I'm going to find you this time," The Doctor muttered to himself as he pulled the sonic out of his pocket, "whatever you are."

The trail was found almost immediately, but it disappeared just as quickly. He followed it for as long as possible, and it eventually led him back to the front door of the smallest house on the block. The house hadn't changed a bit.

Mentally, he scolded himself again for believing that the TARDIS had made a mistake by bringing him here last time.

Almost as soon as he had reached the driveway, the front door swung open and Sydney came rushing out. This time she was only carrying one box, but it was rather large and looked heavy.

She nearly missed him standing there in the driveway, grinning like an idiot.

"Need some help, Sydney?" The Doctor called to the frantic woman, and chuckled as he made his way towards her. It took a moment for her to recognize him, but once she did, a bright smile spread across her face.

"Well, if it isn't Toby Davis. And just in time to help me carry a few boxes to the backyard too. Where on Earth have you been? It's been ages!" Without another thought, she shoved the large box into his arms. "As a matter of fact, where were you this morning when I was bringing in the groceries?" She teased before heading off to the back yard once again.

"Not this Earth, actually. Well, I did spend some time in Nevada…" He began his reply before rambling off onto a rabbit trail that she would never understand.

Sydney rolled her eyes and stopped in front of a picnic table, "Been to America, have you? That's exciting. You should have told me, I have family there."

He did what he was told, and put the box down on the picnic table, it was a major improvement compared to the plastic tables they used last time.

"It was a quick trip, nothing to ooh and ahh about." The Doctor explained with a smile.

"So what brings you back here? Did Molly's invitation finally find you? She insisted we send one to you first, because, to quote her exactly, you are the most familiar stranger she has ever met." Mrs. Hooper's bell of a laugh rang out across the backyard again, which made him smile even wider if that was at all possible.

"I couldn't disappoint the birthday girl by ignoring her invitation, could I? When does the party start?"

All of the sudden there was a yipping sound from inside the box he had just put down. "Sydney, your box sounds very unhappy."

She just laughed and placed a hand on top of the box, "Hush now, you. Miss. Molly is receiving a puppy for her birthday this year. The party starts in a couple minutes, some of the children are playing inside for the time being. We're just waiting for everyone to get here. Will you keep an eye on the present for a bit while I go see if the kiddies are ready?"

His head gave a nod, so she scurried off into the house. At this point, he was completely positive that Sydney Hooper was the someone he was looking for here in this small town outside of London. It had to be her; each time he came here, he was led straight to her. He started trying to determine what she would contribute to the universe, and a moment later children began to spill out of the house and into the backyard.

They all looked older; although it had only been a year, even little Molly looked taller, and closer to the size of the other kids.

When Molly saw the Doctor standing beside the wooden picnic table, she broke into a run and didn't stop until he had picked her up into his arms, "Toby!" Her lips stretched into her usual happy smile, as he held her.

"Hello, Molly Hooper. Happy birthday to you," He began singing, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear, Molly! Happy birthday to you!"

His song caused the little girl's face to turn bright red because everyone was starting to stare.

"Toby," she whispered in a serious tone, "put me down. I am seven years old now." Apparently, she was at the age where everything embarrassed her, so he put her back down.

"Your hair looks very pretty today." He added casually, trying to take her mind off the silly embarrassment. Pride lit up her face immediately when he took notice of her new hairstyle. This time it was down with a purple headband keeping the hair away from her eyes, "Thank you, my Mommy fixed it." She exclaimed before her focus was claimed by the noisy box on the table beside them.

Her eyes widened with curiosity. "Is that for me?" She glanced back at him for a moment, and his shoulders gave a shrug, pretending not to know anything about it. "I'm not sure. I just found it sitting here on this table. What do you think it could be?"

The little girl pressed her ear to the side of the large box, and heard something inside. "I don't know. It sounds like- like something's moving in there!"

He chuckled and took a seat on the picnic bench, and then he pressed his ear to the box as well. "It sure does sound that way, doesn't it?"

Molly pulled herself away from the present and looked at the Doctor, her head tilting to the side slightly, "Did you get me anything, Toby?"

As he moved his head away from the box, his lips formed a small frown. "A gift? Of course, I got you a gift! But there is one small problem." Her lips mirrored his, and worry spread across her face, "What problem?"

He sighed slightly, "It isn't with me at the moment. Think you can find it in your heart to forgive me?" It took her a moment to think it through from every angle, but eventually she decided that she could forgive him, so she nodded her head.

"Fantastic!" he grinned from ear to ear, "But here, I'll give you something else for the time being. Close your eyes," She did as she was told and tightly closed her eyes, "and now hold out your hands." Molly did this too, and waited quietly for him to place whatever it was into her eager hands. "There!" he exclaimed excitedly. The little girl opened her eyes and saw that he had handed her a banana. When she confusedly looked up at him, she found that he appeared to be quiet pleased with himself and his replacement gift.

"Toby…" She began patiently, "this is a banana."

The Doctor nodded in response, "Yes, it is. Bananas are very good, Molly Hooper. You are welcome."

And with that, he stood up and began to walk off towards the cake. He hoped that it was chocolate cake, perhaps with white icing. It could very well be purple icing though, because purple was Molly's favorite color.

Before he reached the cake, he heard the little Hooper calling out to him. "Toby! Toby! You dropped something!"

He turned around and saw that Molly was holding the sonic screwdriver. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he sat on the bench. She was curiously inspecting it when he returned to retrieve it.

"Oops, wouldn't want to forget that. Very important. Thank you for finding it for me." The Doctor held his hand out expectantly and waited for her to return it to him.

"What is it?" She asked curiously as she turned it in many different directions.

"It's a tool that children should not be playing with, please give it back."

Her brows pulled together to form a thin line, "It says you're the Doctor. I thought you were a police officer?"

A look of confusion claimed his features, and he took the screwdriver from the little girl, "How did you get it to do that?" It had never done that for him before, and he had played with it for hundreds of years. As he turned it over in his hand again and again, Molly stood up on her tippy toes in an attempt to see what he was so confused about.

She glanced between the Doctor and the sonic a few times before speaking up again, "What is that, Toby? Why does it think you're a doctor?" He sighed softly, "Not a doctor, the Doctor. Come on, follow me. We need to have a little talk. Man to," He glanced down at her for a moment before beginning to walk further into the yard, and away from the party goers, "well, little girl."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and followed behind him while mumbling something about how she was not little, "I'm seven years old, for goodness sake!" Molly said just loud enough for him to hear.

Once they were far enough away from the rest of the children, and Sydney, he took a seat on the ground and patted the grass beside him for her to mirror his actions. Instead, she forced herself into his lap. This kid was the epitome of adorable.

"Can you keep a secret?" Molly twisted around in his lap to get comfortable before nodding, "Yes, I am very good at keeping secrets."

He smiled halfheartedly before glancing around the yard, "Well, my name is not Toby and I am not actually a policeman. You see, my name is the Doctor."

Molly was very confused for a moment, her little eyebrows pulling together again, "Doctor who?" Everyone always asked that, it was such a human response, he thought. "No Doctor who, just the Doctor. That's my name."

The little girl's confused expression disappeared as she began to giggle, "That's not a name, that's a job!"

He rolled his eyes, "Well, it's my name. What kind of name is Molly Hooper, anyway?"

She simply continued to laugh, so the Doctor decided to move on. "This is a special tool that I use to do important science-y stuff with. It's called the sonic screwdriver. Now, can you tell me how you did that? Please, I need to know."

Her laughter quieted down and she took the sonic back from him. "You just do this," She explained as she showed him, "and then this. Then you point it at someone and that's all I did."

His eyes followed her every move, he was so excited about this new function. "Amazing." He muttered before going to try it out for himself.

"Do me! Do me!" She quickly jumped up from his lap, nearly unable to hold her enthusiasm.

"Fine, fine. Hold your horses." The Doctor did exactly what she told him, and easily got the hang of it. After doing this, and that, he pointed the driver at the little Hooper.

"What does is say?" Her lips stretched into a smile, but he remained silent. "Toby?" She asked quietly.

He shot her a glance and corrected her, "Doctor."

His eyes immediately returned to the sonic. He had done it correctly, hadn't he?

"Doctor," She walked behind him so that she could look over his shoulder, "What's wrong? What does it say?"

There was still no response, instead he stood up and walked back towards the party. He pointed the sonic at a little boy and waited from the results, "Arthur McCathren." The boy heard his name and looked around to see who had called for him. Now the Doctor was extremely confused.

He turned back to Molly and tried it again.

"What does it say, Doctor? Why are you upset?" She was beginning to get worried, and it was obvious in her voice. If he did not tell her soon, the little girl might burst into tears.

"It doesn't say anything, well, that's incorrect. It says, 'Information is not available.'"

Her smile was long gone by now, and it had been replaced by a sad little frown, "Does that mean I'm not important, Toby?"

This time he didn't try to correct her, because he could tell that she had already been suspecting this for quite a some time now. Perhaps she, herself had originally planted that idea in her head.

"Oh no, that is very untrue." Kneeling down in front of her, he placed his hands on her shoulders, "It means you are exceedingly important."

Her eyes stayed trained on the ground, "Why is that? How ?"

He stood up, slipped the sonic into his jacket pocket, and shrugged. "Not sure, yet. But I'm sure as hell going to find out."

Molly looked up at him, "What?"

He knocked himself on the head for cursing in front of a seven year old, "I said I'm going to go find out. Tell your dad I said hi, your mother I said bye, and have a fantastic birthday. Be back in a hop, Molly Hooper."

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_Again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be up as soon as possible. Remember to be kind and patient with me, please. Thank you. 3 I love you all. xoxoxo. _


	3. Two Candles on the Cake Go Out

_Note from author: Hello again! I'd like to thank everyone for following and favoriting my story, it means a lot to me. Here is the next chapter-y thing. I hope you enjoy it._ _Oh, and I would also like to point out that I don't own Molly, the Doctor, or any other characters from BBC's Sherlock and Doctor Who. I do own Sydney, Leslie, Arthur, etc._

* * *

Molly stood quietly and watched the Doctor leave her birthday party, and once he was gone, she did just as she was told. She told her mother that Toby said goodbye, and when her father got home she said that he had said hello. Overall, the party went on as usual without him.

After cutting the cake, everyone took a seat at a picnic table and started to eat.

Her best friends Arthur and Leslie sat next to her, although she wished that Arthur had not because he was a very messy eater.

"Who was that guy?" The freckle faced boy asked curiously, as he shoved a piece of cake into his mouth.

"Who?" Molly responded absentmindedly.

"That man, you know, he had a big nose and funny ears. You were talking to him earlier, and playing with his flashlight." He glanced over to Leslie for support, and her blonde head bobbed up and down quickly, "Yeah, I saw him. He was tall, and he knew Arthur's name and everything, who was he?"

Molly glanced up from the piece of cake she had been poking with her fork, "His ears aren't that funny… What do you mean he knew your name?"

By now, Arthur's face was covered in icing; it was hard to believe he was actually seven and a half years old.

"He walked up to me, pointed his weird flashlight at me, and then said my name!" He acted the whole scene out as he explained, using his fork as the sonic.

The birthday girl rolled her eyes and tossed a napkin at Arthur, "It isn't a flashlight, it's a screwdriver, and it told him your name. It's a special screwdriver."

Leslie snorted as she laughed, "Screwdrivers don't do that. They just fix things."

Arthur used the napkin to wipe the frosting off his mouth, but ignored the bit that had somehow gotten into his hair. "Maybe the funny eared man can fix your head with that screwdriver, Molly." They burst out laughing.

Tears began to form in Molly's eyes, "He does not have funny ears, and like I said, his screwdriver is special! It does more than just fixing things."

Both children failed to see how upset their friend was getting, so they continued to poke fun at her. "What? Is he your boyfriend? Do you like his funny ears?" Arthur made kissy faces and Leslie almost fell off the bench as she continued to laugh.

The little Hooper's face turned a bright shade of red, "He is not my boyfriend. That would be like dating my dad!"

She stumbled over the picnic bench, which made her dramatic exit much less dramatic than she had originally intended, and stormed off. Angry tears were streaming down her face despite her best efforts to make them stop, and she did not know exactly where she was going.

Eventually she found herself under the tree that grew in the middle of her yard, it was not that far away but when you are angry, it feels like miles.

Back at the picnic table, both Leslie and Arthur had finally realized how mad they had made her, and Leslie was now lecturing Arthur on the proper way to talk to girls.

She was such a know-it-all, Molly thought to herself, and he was such a goofball. What a funny group they made.

Her arms crossed in front of her chest as she continued to complain, but deep down inside she knew that she loved her friends. Arthur and Leslie must have loved her too, because they left their cake to apologize.

Leslie made Arthur go first. She pushed him towards Molly and motioned for him to speak, obviously they had planned this in advanced.

"I'm sorry," He stated quietly, and Leslie nodded solemnly in agreement before nudging him with her elbow so that he would continue, "I'm sorry that we laughed at you."

His greens eyes shot Leslie a deadly glare as he rubbed his side where she had jabbed him. Leslie ignored him, and finally decided to chime in, "Really, we're very sorry, Molly. Please forgive us."

This time Arthur dug his elbow into her side. She yelped and glared at him, "Stop it! We just talked about this!"

Molly's lips finally stretched into a small smile, "Don't kill each other, I forgive you." Who knows what those two would do to each other if left alone for five minutes.

Leslie took a seat next to Molly under the tree, and gave her a big hug while Arthur simply leaned against the tree and gave his friend a pat on the shoulder. Hugs were for girls, or at least that was what his older brother had told him.

They spent the rest of the time laughing and talking, avoiding the topic of the Doctor, of course, until Mr. Hooper called out that it was time for presents.

Molly raced over to the large present she had been inspecting earlier with the Doctor as quickly as her little legs would carry her. "This one first!" Her hands were almost shaking with excitement.

Mr. Hooper chuckled, "Go for it, Molls. Heaven knows what it could be."

Her parents exchanged a look, and then Molly carefully began to remove the paper. She hated the idea of ripping such lovely wrapping. The other kids were about to die from anticipation by the time she was ready to take the lid off the box.

When she went to open it, the top flew off and a fuzzy little head popped into sight. Her eyes widened in awe of the creature peeking out of the box as she scrambled to get the puppy out.

It was not very big yet; in fact, the golden fluff that was its fur seemed to swallow up its body.

She held it in her arms and giggled as the puppy tried to lick her face. "It's a golden retriever just like the one I was telling you about!" The little girl exclaimed.

Mrs. Hooper gave her husband's hand a gentle, and a proud smile formed on her face. This had been her idea, and she was so happy that Molly loved it. "You can name him whatever you like, but you must promise to always take care of him."

She let go of Mr. Hooper's hand, and knelt down in front of her daughter so that she could continue explaining the new responsibilities that came with owning a puppy.

"I'm going to name him Stephen." Molly said with a bright smile.

In the years to come, that puppy proved to be one of the few solid rocks that she could cling to when things went wrong, because things did go wrong. Life is not always as easy as one would hope, not even for the happy little Hooper family that lived in the smallest house in their subdivision.

The year flew by, and as Molly's next birthday approached, the Hoopers got some very troubling news. Mr. Hooper was diagnosed with cancer. But the doctors believed that there was still time to cure him, and everyone still had high hopes.

At first, Molly did not really notice a difference in her household, but then the treatments began.

She understood that all of it was to help him, but she hated seeing her father go through all of this.

He was always cheerful around her, though, and the little girl just wished she could be the same.

Once, when he thought no one could see, she caught him allowing a few tears to fall from his eyes. The defeated look on his face made her realize that he did not have as much faith in the doctors as he led his family to believe, but he would never knowingly let them see that. He did not want to plant anymore fear or doubt into Sydney and Molly's heads. That was how she learned what it meant to be brave for other people.

During this time, her thoughts often drifted to her birthday, because she knew that the Doctor would be there and she could tell him all about what was happening.

There was no doubt in her mind that he would come, because he always did, and he would make her laugh.

Her Doctor would make her smile, and, just for a little while, help her to forget. She could not wait to see him again.

Weeks became months, and her birthday arrived just in time. They threw another party, and all of her friends came, all except for one.

Molly waited for him for hours after the party, but he never came.

She fell asleep in the backyard way past her bedtime, with Stephen lying by her side, and Sydney had to carry her from her spot on the grassy ground to her bedroom.

She could not believe that he had not come, but she still had hope for next year, especially since the state of her father had worsened.

However, the same thing happened the next year, and Molly still waited.

This time her father waited with her, and they gazed up at the stars together. He pointed out the constellations to her, and she did her best to find them. He told her stories about when he was young, and his father would point the stars out to him just as he was doing for her. And as he gazed up at the sky, Molly looked over at him and saw that defeated look again. Maybe her father thought she could not see his face in the dark night, but she could, and this time she decided not to let him see how worried it made her.

There was still no sign of the Doctor, but for one night, it almost felt like things were back to normal.

The next year for her tenth birthday, she had a small party with only Arthur and Leslie.

This time she did not wait.

He had obviously decided she was in not important, and that the sonic screwdriver simply had not known whom she was. The Doctor was not coming back, but she did not blame him, she would not want to return to this either.

Later that year, her father lost his battle, and she was forced to bury the most important man in her life.

Now she had lost both of them.

* * *

"Stephen! Come here boy, time for breakfast!" Sydney Hooper placed the dog's food bowl on the ground, and waited a moment for the dog to appear.

Usually he came right away at the mention of food, but this morning he was nowhere to be found.

"Must've gone outside." She mumbled to herself before moving over to the counter to pick up a tray of food.

There was a small vase holding a purple flower, a blueberry muffin with a candle stuck in the top, and some fruit sitting on the tray.

Carefully, she made her way to Molly's room and slowly opened the door. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you!" Sydney began to sing as she flipped the lights on and went to sit on the edge of Molly's bed, "Happy birthday dear, Molly. Happy birthday to you!"

The little girl did not stir from under the covers, so her mother gave her a little shake, "Wake up, dear. It's your birthday! I made breakfast and everything." In the past, Mr. Hooper had always cooked. He was so much better at it than she was, but nowadays all she could do was try her best to keep up.

A moment of silence passed and something did not feel right, so she pulled the covers back, revealing a few strategically placed pillows and a note taped to the one on the top.

Quickly, she unfolded the paper and read it, "_Dear Mom, please don't cry. I'm sorry. Goodbye. -Molly_"

Shock spread across her face followed by worry, she put the tray down and desperately started running throughout the house.

"Molly?" She called out every so often, but it soon became clear that her daughter was not in the house.

Her next stop was outside. She looked up and down the street, in the backyard, and anywhere she could think of, but there was no sign of the little Hooper or Stephen.

They were gone, and Sydney was completely alone.

She searched for hours, and eventually called the police. The officers who had been sent to the house told her to stay home and get some rest while they looked for her little girl, and she was too upset to put up a fight.

Sydney sat on the front porch drinking tea, and waiting. That was when a familiar face made his first appearance in years.

He stopped in the middle of the driveway and gave Sydney a strange, confused look.

"Toby." The woman's voice whispered as she stood up.

A weak smile tugged at her lips, and she ran up to the man, throwing her arms around him in a hug. He immediately hugged her back, but the look of confusion still hung on his face.

The Doctor said nothing, and simply continued to hug her, but she spoke up again. Tears were now running down her face, and her voice broke as she struggled to speak clearly, "Wh-where have you been?"

* * *

_There's number three. Hope you stay tuned for what happens next. ;)_


	4. Deal

_Note from the author: Hello again! I apologize for taking so long to write this. I have been suffering from a terrible case of writer's block, so I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit forced. I still don't own any of the characters except for Mrs. Hooper. Thank you to all my patient readers. It means a lot to me. :) Enjoy._

* * *

The Doctor and Sydney stood in the driveway for a while discussing what was happening. He was very upset to learn that Molly was missing, and his mind immediately jumped to more serious conclusions than a simple case of a runaway child. Because he had yet to figure out why she was important, he had to believe that someone else might want her out of the picture. His mission to discover what would make her so special was constantly being interrupted by matters that were more urgent at the time.

He rubbed his eyes worriedly and sighed, "I'm sorry, Sydney."

She shook her head, and wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes again, "Don't be sorry Toby. It isn't your fault." If only he could believe that.

All of a sudden, her attention drifted away from the conversation. Her eyes looked past the Doctor, towards the road. "Hello? Can I help you?" Sydney inquired curiously.

He spun around to see whom she was talking to and groaned when he saw his blonde companion staring back at him. "I thought I told you to stay in the TARDIS this time?"

Rose rolled her eyes and made her way down the driveway, "And I thought I told you that I would do no such thing."

He threw his arms up in defeat before crossing them in front of his chest. "Sydney," the Doctor began, tilting his head in Rose's direction, "this is my friend Rose Tyler."

Sydney smiled halfheartedly and held her hand out to Rose, "It's nice to meet one of Toby's friends, I apologize for, well, all of this." She wiped her eyes again with her other hand, and released a small laugh.

Rose gave the Doctor a funny look before accepting the woman's hand and shaking it. "No need to apologize. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The look went unnoticed by Mrs. Hooper, and after introductions were made she suggested that they all go inside for a cup of tea. Both accepted the offer, but the Doctor had no intention to stay for long.

"You two take a seat, I'll pour the tea. Be back in hop." Sydney used the most cheerful voice she could manage, and walked into the kitchen.

"Why does she do that?" Rose asked immediately once their host was gone, "Why does she call you Toby?" She was worried that she had missed something, and judging by the look on the Doctor's face, she had.

"I'll explain later. In the meantime, you stay here and keep an eye on her," He pointed towards the kitchen where his friend was fixing their tea, "try to take her mind off things. She needs to smile, I feel like she hasn't done it genuinely in quite a while. I'm going to find Molly."

There was a brief moment of hesitation before Rose actually agreed to stay behind this time, but then he was off. "Be careful!" She stammered as he rushed down the hallway, and out the door.

He knew that he was leaving Sydney in good hands with Rose. Now he could focus completely on his young friend.

The Doctor pulled the sonic from his pocket and began searching. It turned out that finding a little girl and a dog was more difficult than it sounded, but after about an hour of searching, he stumbled across a clue.

In the forest a couple miles away from the Hoopers' house, he found a purple ribbon caught in a bush. Purple was Molly's favorite color, and nearby he found evidence that a dog had also run through these bushes.

"Got'cha!" He beamed as his hand removed the ribbon from the foliage. The little Hooper could not be too far away.

His search continued and after almost another hour, he came upon a small clearing. That was where he finally found the pair of runaways sitting in the grass, and looking extremely pitiful.

Molly had tears streaming down her face, and the dog looked like it was falling asleep in the warm sunlight. They had both desperately needed a break.

He stood outside the little meadow, and quietly looked at his friend. She looked so much older, and he hated that he missed the last few years. For some reason it made him a bit sad to see how tall and pretty she had grown in his absence. This was nothing new to him, though. Everyone had to move forward with or without him; it was simply the way of time, the circle of life.

Nevertheless, he refused to dwell on that, because he had right now, and the present matters just as much as the past or the future does.

"Lose something?" The Doctor asked as he stepped into the clearing, holding the purple ribbon between his fingers.

The girl's head instantly shot up when the familiar voice filled the grassy area. For a moment he thought he saw a spark of joy in her sad doe eyes, but it turned into a cross glare too soon to be sure.

"Where have you been?" She whimpered, although it was meant to sound very angry and demanding. Her voice grew a bit louder when she rephrased the question, "Where on Earth have you been?"

A fresh wave of tears hit her, and she had to wipe her eyes again.

There had been entirely too much crying today, he thought to himself, quietly walking further into the clearing.

His fingers fiddled with the ribbon in his hands as he tried to find the answer to her question. A whole list of places ran through his mind. "I've been a lot of places." The Doctor finally responded, and took a seat on the ground a little ways away from the girl and her dog.

Stephen eyed him curiously, unsure of whether to trust this stranger or not. "I'm not a stranger, I'm the Doctor. Friend of the family, don't give me that look." He said directly to the animal, which caused Molly's brows to pull together.

"What are you doing?" She glanced worriedly between Stephen and her friend. Perhaps he had lost his mind while he was away.

"I speak dog." He explained as if it made complete and total sense that he would be able to talk to her dog.

"No you don't. That's impossible." The little Hooper was a very intelligent girl, one of the smartest in her class, in fact. She knew that people could learn different languages, but not animal languages.

His shoulders gave a careless shrug, "I speak many languages. More than you can count."

She almost retorted that she could count extremely high, but decided against it. There were more important things to discuss.

Her voice softened yet again, "Why didn't you come back?"

A frown crept onto the Doctor's face, he tucked the ribbon into his pocket, and then patted his lap for her to join him.

Molly forced herself to be cautious, and tried very hard to stay where she was, but it was useless. She moved onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He hugged her back, happy to have his little Hooper again.

"I think we need to have another man to little girl talk, Molly. First, I have a question for you, though. Answer mine, and I'll answer all of yours. Sound like a deal?" The girl nodded, staying quiet so that he could continue. "Why did you run away? Your mother is worried sick about you."

Molly sniffled softly, her eyes staring intently at the ground. "I was going to come back, really I was. But today is my eleventh birthday, and my friends are busy, so I'm not having a party. It's just Mom and me, and few days ago I saw what she got me. It was an accident, but you can't un-see things."

His head tilted to the side curiously, "What did she get you that made you want to run away?"

She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, "She got me a bicycle. It was blue with only two wheels, and I know it's silly, but I don't know how to ride a bicycle. My dad always said that he was going to teach me one day."

The Doctor was still failing to see how this would make her upset, "He's probably going to teach you after you get your present. That's nothing to be upset about."

Without replying, she pulled out of his lap and walked away.

"Molly?"

Hugging her sides, she took in a deep breath, "You weren't here. You missed everything. Doctor, he can't teach me," Her petite frame shook with small sobs that she refused to release, "He died."

His eyes widened, and a frown deepened on his face.

"Every year on my birthday I waited for you. He waited with me sometimes, but you never showed up." Molly had to stop for a moment to pull herself back together.

He tried to take this moment to apologize, but she cut him off before he could finish saying her name,

"So what happened, Doctor? Did you just forget? Did you find out that I actually wasn't important at all? I need to know, because I've been asking myself why for a long time." The Doctor knelt in front of her reached out to take her hand in his, but she pulled hers away. "It was like I lost both of you."

"I'm sorry. I never meant to be away for so long. Do you remember when I told you that I was not a police officer? Well, my real job required me to be away. Sometimes I have to leave for a while; sometimes I don't come back for a long time, and sometimes I don't return the same man at all."

The girl finally looked up at him, "That sounds like a hard job."

A sad smile appeared on his lips, "It is, but someone has to do it."

For a moment neither of them said anything at all, but then Molly wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly again, "I missed you so much." She cried. Just as he had many times before, the Doctor hugged her back. "I may not be on time, Molly Hooper, but as long as I am able, I will always come back. I promise."

His shoulder was damp from Molly's tears when they pulled out of the hug. "Let's get you home, alright?" He stood up and glanced at the sky, trying to determine what time it was.

"I have one more question," she began softly, "What is your job?"

He glanced back her, and smiled again. "I'll tell you about it on the way home. Then I'll teach you how to ride that shiny new bicycle. Sound good?"

A bright smile stretched across Molly's face and she nodded quickly.

He held his hand out to her, this time she took it, and then, with Stephen at the little Hooper's side, they returned to the smallest house in the neighborhood.

* * *

"Now listen, everything I just told you is for your ears only."

Molly agreed to keep it private, and then they both walked into the house.

"Guess who is back!" The Doctor called out in a singsong voice.

Sydney was the first one to reach them, and she flung her arms around her little girl, pressing kisses to her cheeks, "Thank God you're safe!" She cried.

Rose trailed closely behind and took her spot standing beside the Doctor, "So, that's Molly Hooper?" She inquired, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

He grinned proudly, and nodded, "That's her."

After the Hoopers' reunion, Sydney pulled the Doctor into a grateful hug, "Thank you for bringing her back. We've missed you so much."

Rose stood off to the side, giving them a moment of privacy.

Molly noticed the blonde stranger, and walked over to her, "You must be Rose. I'm Molly. He told me about you."

She could not help but smile at the fact that he had talked about her, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss. Molly."

The little girl stuck her hands in her pockets, "He said that you and I had something in common?"

Rose's brows pulled together, "What's that?"

Molly released a small sigh, "He said that your dad died when you were little too. I'm not as young as you were, though."

The companion and the little Hooper walked into the living room, "That's true. My dad got hit by a car when I was just a baby."

Molly took a seat on the couch, and Rose did the same. "My dad died from cancer earlier this year.

" As tears began to form in the girl's eyes, Rose reached over and held her hand.

They sat and talked like that for a long time. They discussed everything under the sun, including their experiences with the Doctor.

When he and Mrs. Hooper returned to the living room, Molly and Rose were laughing like old friends.

He smiled at the pair on the couch, and then gestured towards the front door with his thumb, "Ready to ride that bike, Molls?"

Sydney rolled the shiny, blue bike outside where everyone else was waiting. Stephen was lazily lying in the grass, ignoring all the excitement.

"First step is getting on the bike." Once she had completed that step, they worked on balance.

"Now we just have to get you going!"

Molly nodded anxiously, and whispered, "Don't let go of me, Toby."

He stood behind her, keeping her steady, "I have to let you go at some point so that you can learn to ride on your own, but if you start to fall, I'll always come back to catch you." He winked at her with a cheesy grin on his face, and then they were off.

* * *

_Well, there's the latest chapter. I hope it is decent enough. For some reason I had a really hard time writing this. Please be kind in your reviews. I love you for reading my stories. Thank you. Stay tuned to see what happens next. xoxox_


	5. Plans

_Note from author: Hello my lovely readers! Thank you all for being so kind to me. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. :D I am so sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter, but I've been very busy with school. Luckily, summer break is basically here! I hope you guys like this chapter, it focuses on Rose and the Doctor. You might be a little surprised by the ending, though. ;) Reminder that I do not own Rose, the Doctor, or Molly Hooper. Thank you again for reading, reviewing, favoriting, following, and being patient with me. I love you all. _

* * *

Rose and the Doctor stayed with the Hoopers for a few days to make up for his long absence, and to make sure that Molly learned how to ride her new bike properly. Besides, Rose would probably enjoy the time off, he thought.

All the girls became very good friends during the break, especially his blonde companion and the youngest Hooper. They watched movies together, and Stephen enjoyed playing outside with the pair.

Molly's friends Leslie and Arthur came over once, and Arthur became completely obsessed with Rose. It was his first major crush on a girl, and Leslie thought it was ridiculous. "She's so old, though, Arthur." The girl would argue as he gawked at Rose.

Molly dug her elbow into his side and brought him out of his daze. "What?" he asked, snapping back into reality. They both rolled their eyes at him, and Rose did her best to be kind without leading him on. It was a tender subject.

When Molly was not spending time with Rose, she was following the Doctor around.

No one knew what they discussed during these times together, but they both appeared to be as happy as could be. Rose never asked him because it was none of her business but she was still curious.

Eventually the time came for the Doctor and his friend to leave the Hoopers.

It was a bittersweet farewell with Molly clinging to his side, and Sydney trying to give them snacks for their trip so that they would not get hungry.

"Please don't go, Toby." His little friend wrapped her arms around his neck, begging him not to leave.

He sighed, "Do you remember everything I told you?" She nodded and began to interrupt him, but he continued. "Good. I'll be back, but while I am away I want you to do fantastic things so that you can tell me all about them later. You got that, Molls?" His arms hugged her back, and then he ruffled her hair playfully, "Be back in a hop, Hooper."

The Doctor and Rose finally waved goodbye to their friends and returned to the TARDIS.

Upon entering the ship, he went directly to the control panel while she stood out of the way.

"So." She remarked casually, allowing her arms to cross in front of her chest.

He waited for her continue, but when she did not he glanced in her direction, "So?"

Her lips formed a curious grin, "So why do they call you Toby?"

He blinked as he tried to conjure up the answer.

Suddenly excitement flashed in his eyes and he ran over to the other side of the panel, "Absolutely no idea!"

Her eyes widened, and she nodded slowly, doing her best to follow all of this, "But we are going to find out, aren't we?"

"Precisely."

They were off again.

* * *

Rose pulled a sandwich out of the bag that Sydney had packed for them and took a bite out of it. She was sitting on the ground, and the Doctor was still flying the TARDIS.

He had been talking to her for over an hour, not Rose, the TARDIS.

She did not mind his mumbling to the big blue box, after all, it must be a bit lonely to travel with the Doctor and never be able to speak to him. At least he acknowledged the fact that she was there.

"You hungry?" Rose inquired after he had fallen silent for a few minutes.

"No, thanks. We're almost there, and I ate before we left."

Her fingers tore a piece of the sandwich off before tossing it into her mouth. "You've been working at that for a while. Exactly where are we going, Doctor?"

A smug smile curled onto his lips as the ship lurched to a stop. "Fantastic timing, Rose! Why don't we go see?" He suggested before hopping towards the door.

She laughed at his excitement and followed him, placing the rest of the sandwich back in the paper bag. "Wait for me!" Rose called out.

The Doctor stopped in front of the door, and held his hand out for her to take. She did and they left the TARDIS hand in hand, practically bubbling over with glee.

When they left the police box, it became clear that they were in London.

"Hey, this is near my place." His blonde companion announced while glancing around at the various buildings towering around them.

His eyes followed hers, taking in their surroundings, "Correct. However, I wouldn't be expecting Jackie or Mickey to show up anytime soon. They haven't met me yet, and technically neither have you. You see, if I'm not mistaken, the Hoopers are currently living in that building right there. Molly is about two." The Doctor finished explaining and immediately started towards the apartment building.

Rose still had many questions to ask, but she kept them to herself for the time being. As usual, they would probably be answered by the time they returned.

She followed him down the pavement, into the building, and upstairs. Apparently, he already knew the room number, how he did that she would never know. "So, what's the plan here?"

His brows pulled together as if her question had confused him, "We're going to knock on the door. Why? What did you have in mind?"

Rose almost laughed, "We're just going to knock on the door and see what happens? No plan, no anything?"

"This is what we usually do." The Doctor explained as if it was a well-known fact.

"You mean to tell me that I've been running recklessly through time and space, helping save the universe, and all with a man who has absolutely no sort of plan whatsoever?"

He was silent for a moment before shaking his head, "Actually, the plan is to save the universe."

Her mouth hung open for a moment.

"Are you really so concerned about having a plan for talking to these people? We have encountered life or death situations with hundreds of alien species on unknown planets and you've never once mentioned needing a plan until now."

Her shoulders gave a shrug and her mouth closed. "I'm just a bit surprised, that's all." She insisted. "Now, are you going to knock or shall I?"

He chuckled and took a step away from the door, "Ladies first."

With her lips pursed together, she stepped forward and tapped her fist against the door.

They could hear a woman's voice calling to them from inside, she was probably letting them know that she was coming. After a moment, the door swung open, revealing a familiar tall, lanky woman who could not be much older than twenty-three. As usual she had her hands full, but this time she was holding a toddler instead of birthday cakes and boxes.

Sydney Hooper smiled tiredly at the couple standing outside her door, "Good morning. Can I help you?"

The Doctor was about to respond when there was another voice from inside the flat, "That must be the man coming to fix the tap, or is it the babysitter?"

Mr. Hooper came to the front door and stood behind his wife. "Are you Toby, the man I spoke to on the phone yesterday?"

An understanding smile twitched on Rose's lips and she gave her friend a meaningful glance.

The Doctor simply nodded and shook the man's hand, "The one and only, Mr. Hooper."

"Please, call me Nathan." He grinned and glanced at his wristwatch, "Hey, Syd, it's about time you got going. Your mother's going to get worried."

Nathan took Molly, the toddler, from his wife and gave her a peck on the lips.

"Call me if anything happens." She called to him while getting her coat. "Oh, and don't forget to tell the sitter about her nap times and her eating schedule."

Nathan practically pushed her out the door. "I've got everything under control, darling. I love you. Have fun."

Mrs. Hooper waved goodbye to her husband, then the Doctor, and finally Rose as she walked away.

Once she was gone, Nathan's attention returned to the problem at hand. "You must be Abigail from the babysitting company, right?"

Rose glanced between the man and the Doctor before agreeing to that statement, "Yes, sir."

He showed them into the flat and explained Molly's needs to Rose, what the Doctor needed to fix, and then went off to the dining room where papers were stacked everywhere.

Rose rocked little Molly in her arms and stepped into the dining room, "Nathan?" She began curiously, "I don't mean to pry, but why did you hire a sitter- I mean me, if you're going to be here the entire time?"

Mr. Hooper looked up from his work and smiled patiently, "I work from home at the moment, and I'm not very good at multitasking."

She gazed down at the energetic little girl in her arms, "I can understand it. Babies are a lot of work especially at this age, the terrible twos, you know."

His head bobbed up and down as his hands shuffled through a few stacks of paper, "You should've seen us when we first got her. Sydney and I weren't sure what to do. It all came as quite the surprise."

Her brows furrowed lightly, "You said you got her. Is she, I mean did you...?"

"Adopt her? I suppose you could say that." He answered honestly.

Suddenly they heard a loud bang from the kitchen where the Doctor was supposedly working.

"Is everything okay in there?" They called almost simultaneously.

"Yes, yes, of course! Just hit my head. I'm all finished in here, actually." He stumbled into the dining room with an excited grin on his face. "Is there anything else you needed help with?"

As the men discussed various things that needed fixing, Rose decided to leave them to their work.

She carried Molly to her nursery and was surprised by the number of rooms in this tiny flat.

It's a bit like the TARDIS, she thought to herself.

"Well, Miss. Molly, what would you like to do now?" The toddler stared up at her, smiling and babbling cheerfully. "Why don't you show me around your room? Sound good?"

Her lips twisted into a smile, and the baby in her arms reached up to touch her face. "Good. Oh, your room is lovely, but I thought you preferred purple?"

Molly's room was very bright and happy with its pink walls and white furniture. A few cardboard boxes were stacked in the corner; the Hoopers were probably planning to move to their house soon.

Something else caught her eye from across the nursery. "What've you got here?" She pondered as she walked towards the wooden frame hanging on the wall.

It was a piece of paper with something written on it. The handwriting was very messy, but somehow she was able to make out what it said.

_Molly Amelia Hooper,_

_ You are a very important little girl._

_ Love Mommy xoxo._

"Find something interesting?" The Doctor's voice inquired from the door frame.

"Just this note Sydney wrote for Molls." She replied simply, not thinking much of it, and turned around to smile at him.

He stepped past her and examined the note for himself.

"Sydney didn't write this," he stated, taking the toddler into his arms, "Must be from her birth mother. Sydney has much neater handwriting, and this was written in a hurry. She was in a rush. I wonder why?"

Rose listened carefully to everything he said and shrugged in response to his final question when he glanced her way.

For a moment neither of them said anything.

"Nathan is a nice man," She sighed softly, "I just remembered why I had never met him before." A frown formed on her lips and he stayed silent, "I wish they could always be this happy."

The Doctor shook his head slowly before soberly explaining that it was another fixed point in time, meaning he could do nothing about it.

She could see the sadness sinking into his eyes, so she reached over and placed her hand over his, an action that was able to comfort them both and somehow make them feel less helpless in these kinds of situations.

They decided to drop the subject on Nathan Hooper, and spent the rest of their time caring for little Molly.

Rose and the Doctor sat on the floor with Molly constantly moving from lap to lap.

"Can you say Rose?" She asked for the hundredth time. "Ruh-OH-ss?"

Molly giggled, loving all the attention, and squealed, "No!"

The Doctor laughed so hard he almost rolled back onto the floor, "How many times is she going to refuse before you give up?"

Her eyes narrowed playfully in his direction, "She is close to saying it! The time before, she almost said it!" She insisted which only made him laugh harder.

Rose continued trying even though the toddler had lost interest and had stuck her fingers into her mouth tiredly.

"Toby," Mr. Hooper called from somewhere else in the flat, "whenever you get finished with the bathroom tap feel free to be on your way. I've already kept you busy for half the morning. Oh, and Abigail, Sydney is going to be home soon, and I'm done with most of my work. I can take Molly now if you'd like to get going as well."

Rose got up from her spot on the floor, bringing Molly along with her, and headed towards the dining room with the Doctor trailing behind them.

"Thank you both for all the help. It means a lot to us." Nathan grinned gratefully. "If you'll just give me a minute I'll get the money together and pay you." He motioned for them to wait before moving into the kitchen.

Immediately they started to make their way to the front door.

Rose sat Molly in her highchair before taking the Doctor's hand and exiting the flat. After all, the Hooper family needed the money more than they did.

"I'd say the plan was a success." The Doctor chimed as they walked down the stairs.

Rose rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him away.

"What plan?" She scoffed, "Who needs plans?"

* * *

That was one of his final adventures as that version of himself.

Rose had needed a doctor, and he just happened to be the only one qualified for the job, but he would do it again for her in a single beat of his hearts.

He traded his leather jacket in for a suit and a pair converse.

Nevertheless, he was still himself.

He was still the Doctor, and he had promised a little girl that he would always return as long as he was able.

He intended to keep that promise.

If he could convince Rose that he was the same man, perhaps he could make his little Hooper understand that too.

* * *

_Oh my! The Doctor had regenerated! :0 Hello, David Tennant. ;)_

_Well, that was the chapter! I apologize if there are any errors. I hope it was worth the wait! Please be kind in your reviews, but I would LOVE some more reviews. I love you all for reading my story. Stay tuned to see how Molly adjusts to Ten! xoxox_


	6. Dancing and Robot Dogs

_Note from author: First of all I am just going to apologize for anything that is wrong in this chapter. I am having such a difficult time right now. I hope it isn't disappointing. I'm sorry. Thank you lovely people for putting up with me and reading my story. It means so much to me. Thank you for following, favoriting, and reviewing. As usual, I do not own the Doctor, Rose, Mickey, Molly, etc. This chapter is about how Molly meets Ten. I love you all so much. 3_

* * *

"What color are you wearing tonight?" Arthur nervously asked Leslie as he leaned against her locker.

It was the day of the prom and the fact that he was supposed to pick up a tie, specifically one that matched her gown, had slipped his mind.

The blonde haired girl's lips twisted into a frown, "Blue. I told you a million times, Arthur. I even showed you what shade it was." She shoved him off her locker and began entering the combination, "So I guess we aren't going to be coordinating, then?"

The boy's eyes stared into the ground, "No, of course we will. I was just…making sure."

Leslie scoffed sadly at her freckle faced prom date and longtime best friend, "Please, I know you forgot. I tried to believe that you would actually try, but, you are you." She shook her head quickly before muttering, "See you tonight." Leslie scurried off down the hallway as quickly as she could, obviously upset by his lack of respect for the occasion.

He almost went after her, but then he heard his other friend tell him to give her some space.

Molly, who was now seventeen years old, had been standing at her locker nearby and glared at Arthur, "Why'd you put this off until today? You know how important it is to her." She closed her locker and walked over to his side of the hall.

He sighed, "I didn't mean to, Molls. Honestly, I meant to do it a long time ago."

She simply shook her head, "We are seniors in high school and you still never fail to drive Leslie completely mad. I can't believe she hasn't murdered you yet."

He chuckled even though it was a completely reasonable thing to ponder. The two of them never got along, but for some reason they felt the need to take each other to dances and hold hands. Molly always thought that Arthur and Leslie were like an old married couple from the very start.

"Give me your hand." She requested before reaching into her backpack and pulled out a pen.

Arthur did, and then Molly began to write something on his palm. "This is the name of the shade of blue that you need. Get it and Leslie will be thrilled."

The boy threw his arms around his friend, hugging her gratefully. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Maybe she won't ring my neck tonight after all!" He released her, spun around, and practically danced down the hallway.

Molly slipped her pen back into her backpack and went off on her own, quietly laughing at Arthur's little show.

The upperclassmen were getting out of school early today to prepare for the dance, and it was almost time to leave.

She was looking for her date Peter, but he had been M.I.A. almost all day. The last time she saw him was this morning when he had flat out ignored her. She asked him what time he was picking her up and he only muttered, "Later, Molly."

There was no doubt in her mind that he would come, though.

"Everything's going to be perfectly fine," Molly reassured herself, "no need to be worried."

* * *

After school Molly went home with Leslie to get ready for the dance.

Her friend's house was much bigger than her own was, so they decided it would be easier to do there.

Ms. Hooper wanted to be a part of the girls' big night too so she tagged along to help them fix their hair.

As they lounged around in their pajamas, doing their nails, the girls' two dresses hung beside the tall mirror in the corner.

Leslie had purchased a pale, sky blue dress to wear that night. It matched her eyes and the jeweling that twisted around her waist made the dress even lovelier.

Molly, on the other hand, had borrowed a dress from her cousin. It was navy blue, fit her like a glove, and was equally as lovely despite the fact that it was a hand-me-down.

"You're sure Arthur and Peter are picking us up in fifteen minutes?" Leslie asked her friend nervously as she looked at her hair in the mirror for the thousandth time. "And you're positive they even remembered to arrange a ride?"

Molly's head bobbed up and down, "Yes. I even wrote it on Arthur's forehead last weekend. Remember?"

The girls burst into a fit of giggles.

Arthur, Leslie, Molly, and Peter had been hanging out in the Hooper back yard, discussing plans for the prom, when the boys insisted on arranging the transportation. The ladies knew that neither boy would remember on their own so Molly took a permanent marker and wrote "**HOW WILL WE GET TO THE PROM, ARTHUR?**" across Leslie's date's head in big, bold letters.

"It took him three days to get it off. I guarantee he did not forget." Molly added with a sly grin.

A few minutes later, the bedroom door opened and their mothers walked in excitedly. "You girls look wonderful." They said almost simultaneously.

Leslie's mother was overflowing with enthusiasm, "The boys just pulled up in the driveway. Time for pictures downstairs!"

The women, already armed with their cameras, led their daughters downstairs after allowing them slip into their gowns.

As they reached the first floor there was a knock at the door and Ms. Hooper moved to open it and let the dates in.

Arthur walked in first, wearing a tie that matched his date's dress perfectly, with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Leslie threw her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Thank you for getting a tie. I love it."

His cheeks turned a soft shade of pink and he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Leslie, you look am- well, wonder- I mean pr- beautiful. You look beautiful."

Molly stood off to the side, waiting for Peter to walk through the door and hopefully tell her something similar, but nothing happened.

Quietly, she stepped outside the house to glance around the driveway, but he was not there.

"Arthur," Molly's voice trembled, "where is Peter?"

Arthur glanced in her direction, a worried look crossing his face, "I heard from him before I picked up the car. I thought he would phone you."

Her head was beginning to spin, but she did her best to remain calm, "No, he didn't. Why? What did he tell you?"

Leslie's mother carelessly led her daughter and Arthur towards the staircase for pictures during the conversation.

"Peter said he would meet us outside the dance." He replied through a cheesy grin for a photo.

Sydney wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders, "Peter will meet you there. Don't worry your pretty little head." She knew very well how her daughter liked to worry about things. "Now let's get some pictures." Her lips formed a comforting smile and Molly nodded, "Okay."

Many, many pictures were taken before the group was allowed to leave for the prom, but eventually they got on their way.

"Come on, Molls, you don't need to wait for him out here all by yourself. Peter's a big boy; he can find his way in by himself." Arthur insisted once they arrived at the dance and Molly explained that she planned to wait for her date out front.

"Yeah, just come in with us, Molly." Leslie begged, tugging gently on her friend's hand.

"No, no, he'll be here in a bit. You two go ahead." She motioned for them to go without her, and after much protest, they finally listened to her.

Little did Molly Hooper know that she was going to waist half of her night outside, waiting for a boy who would never come.

However, she was very good at waiting, and hope was something that came naturally to her.

Occasionally someone would pass by and she would ask what time it was, and each time it only got later and later.

Hours passed by all too quickly, and Molly resorted to sitting on the stone steps outside the building. She no longer cared about wrinkling her dress, for the stars were her only company and they did not care what she looked like. But despite everything else they made her feel somewhat better. The stars reminded her of her father.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" A foreign voice inquired.

It was not until he repeated his question that she understood it was directed at her.

Molly speedily wiped away the tears that had begun to roll down her cheeks, "I'm just waiting for my date." She sniffled, attempting to use a cheerful voice.

Her eyes finally glanced up from the pavement to see a very interesting looking man.

He wore a pinstripe suit with a tie, trainers, and his brown hair was stylishly tousled.

Molly noted that she had never seen him around before, but then again she did not know many people.

"Have you been waiting here all night, Molly?" His brows furrowed sadly.

She was surprised to hear that he knew her name, "No." The defensive response left her lips all too quickly to be true. "Excuse me, but do I know you?" And her question caused him to chuckle softly.

"Perhaps." He responded as his shoulders gave a shrug, "My name is Toby."

It took a moment for the name to register in her mind, and even after it clicked, uncertainty was plain upon her face.

"Can I interest you in a dance? I'd hate for you to miss the party."

"I haven't danced in a long time. I might step on your feet." She warned him carefully, but the man's smile only brightened.

"I believe dancing is a lot like riding a bike, you never completely forget how. Especially if you had a good teacher."

Molly's eyes widened with shock, and she stood up from her seat on the steps.

Neither of them said anything as she stared at him in disbelief, and it excited him that he could practically see the gears in her head beginning to turn.

When she spoke up again her voice came out much more quietly, "Doctor?"

"Yes." The Doctor replied so rapidly that he nearly cut her off. His hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "Care to check for yourself?" He asked before using it to scratch the side of his head.

She shook her head, her eyes looking over his new form, "You look different."

"Is different alright?" The Doctor's voice lowered a bit.

He was obviously worried about her reaction to this change.

"Yeah." Her lips slowly stretched into a smile, and she cautiously went to wrap her arms around him.

He closed the rest of the space between them by hugging her back.

While standing there the Doctor found that he no longer had to bend down for her to reach him, and that caused an old, rusty emotion, one he had not felt in a while, to stir inside of him.

"I can't believe you're here." She cried, tears returning to her big brown eyes.

"Don't ruin your makeup over me." He muttered in her ear comfortingly.

"What is this shindig, anyway?"

Molly pulled away to look at him directly, "It's the prom, Doctor." This time the cheerfulness in her voice was genuine.

Suddenly a very familiar voice pulled the attention away from the school dance again.

"Did you find her?" Rose Tyler asked as she approached them.

The Doctor stepped aside so that Molly could see her old friend.

"Rose!" She exclaimed excitedly and nearly ran over to hug her.

"Molly!" The blonde companion beamed, "You're so grown!"

The girls laughed as they began discussing the years that had passed. There was so much to discuss!

The Doctor was sure that no one in the universe could pull that pair apart right now.

"I'm so happy to see you." The not-so-little Hooper rejoiced.

Finally, a newer face stumbled onto the scene. "There you are! You could've waited for me." The boy complained as he stopped for air.

Rose and Molly pulled away from each other to examine him.

"Molls, this is Mickey. He's been traveling around with us." Rose explained.

Mickey gave a little wave towards the girls, "That's her? I thought we were looking for a little girl." He glanced between the Doctor and Rose with a confused expression on his face, expecting an explanation.

"No," the Doctor corrected almost patiently, "I said the last time she saw us was when she was little."

When they finally got everything straightened out, Molly invited her friends into the dance.

Leslie and Arthur were extremely relieved to see their friend finally join them.

"Molls! We were worried you had gone home. Where's Peter?" Leslie asked after scampering over to meet Molly.

A slight frown fell on the girl's face, "Peter never showed up. But I did run into a few old friends out front. This is Toby, Rose, and Mickey." She motioned towards each person as she said his or her name.

Arthur's mouth hung open when he saw Rose. After all, she had been his first major crush.

Leslie saw this and roughly elbowed him in the stomach.

Mickey saw it too, and was not exactly sure what to think.

Although there were many questions swimming around in Leslie and Arthur's minds, they decided to keep them for later. It was time for fun, so the couple led the others out onto the dance floor instead.

Leslie grabbed her date by the hand, forcing him away from Rose, and Molly claimed the Doctor as her partner. This left Mickey and Rose together and luckily, they did not mind too much.

The music was slow so the Doctor and Molly were able to sway to the beat as they talked.

"When you said that sometimes you didn't return the same man I never even imagined that you meant this. I mean, I know you told me what would happen, but still, this is impossible." Molly remarked to her old friend. "What happened?" Her head tilted to side curiously.

He took in a deep breath and spun her around, "You still remember what I told you last time?" She nodded and he continued, "I had to save someone." His head nodded in Rose's direction.

"I think she's a very good reason." Her lips stretched into a smile once again.

Rose and the Doctor meant the world to her, and she was happy that they were both safe and sound.

"How long will you be staying this time?"

"Not long, but I'm happy I got here when I did. If we ever find the boy who left you waiting out there, we'll send Rose to give him an earful. If she's able to channel her inner Jackie, he'll be scared for his life." The Doctor marveled.

Molly laughed although she had no idea who Jackie was. It did not matter because she had her Doctor again.

They danced for a bit longer, but then she suggested he ask Rose for a dance.

Of course, his blonde companion accepted and they laughed about some inside joke they had the whole time.

Mickey and Molly made some small talk, but never got around to dancing.

Later in the evening, the whole gang switched partners again.

Molly and the Doctor returned to each other, but this time Arthur was dancing with Rose and Leslie with Mickey.

Arthur must have stepped on Rose's toes over twenty times. He was so nervous he could barely make conversation, and she was just trying to be as nice about it as she could.

Meanwhile Leslie and Mickey had a very interesting talk.

Mickey and his partner had worked out a move that allowed for each of them to spy on their original partner for equal amounts of time. It was a spinning motion.

Leslie grumbled when she saw Arthur blush over something the other blonde had said to him.

"You know what?" Mickey began tiredly after mumbling about a problem of his own, "I know how you feel. You and I we're the odd ones out."

The student stopped spinning and stared up at him, "What?"

He shook his head, "We're the robot dogs."

"What?" Leslie snapped, her teeth gritting together.

"The robot dogs. We just…"

"Did you just call me a dog?" Her blood was boiling.

"Well, I-" His response was cut short when she slapped him across the face and stormed over to break Rose and Arthur up.

The Doctor burst out laughing, "Someone has a bit of a temper, doesn't she?"

Molly glanced towards a very hurt and confused Mickey and giggled along, "She tends to be a tad fierce."

That was the last overly dramatic event of the evening, and the rest of prom was a ball. Everyone had a grand time.

When it was time to leave Arthur drove Leslie home, Rose and Mickey returned to the TARDIS, and the Doctor went for a walk with Molly.

She took her heels off and walked down the cold pavement barefoot.

"Rose and I went back to when your parents were living in a flat in London." The Doctor announced as he walked beside her, kicking at a pebble on the ground.

She glanced in his direction, "When I was just a toddler?" Molly smiled. "Did you learn anything interesting?"

His head nodded but he did not look at her, "Do you know that you are adopted?" He was worried that this would be a surprise to her but for the second time that night her reaction surprised him.

"Of course. My parents thought it would be best to tell me from the get-go."

"Good, good." The Doctor answered simply. "I'm afraid that's all we got from that trip, but I did fix your plumbing and you were a very cute baby." He laughed and bent down to pick up the pebble.

"Yeah?" She grinned. "Well, dad always talked about a plumber and a babysitter that left without letting him pay."

"Guilty."

"Thank you, he really appreciated it."

A silence fell between them as they continued walking. Nevertheless, it was anything but awkward. These two were the kind of friends that could simply sit in silence and enjoy one another's company for hours without getting bored.

They had only met a few times before, but there was no doubt that these two were bonded.

Eventually they found themselves standing in front of the Hooper house.

"Are you sure you have to leave so soon, Doctor?" Molly asked with a disappointed frown.

Her friend sighed, "I'm afraid so."

She hugged him again, one last time before he left.

"Thank you for coming. I can't wait to see you next time. Maybe you could come back sooner?"

"I'll try." He promised. "Tell you mother I said hello. Be back in a hop, Molly Hooper."

They released each other, and the Doctor watched her walk into the small house.

Once she was inside he turned and made his way back to the TARDIS where Rose and Mickey were waiting for him.

He promised himself he would come back sooner. Maybe for her eighteenth birthday?

The occasion did not really matter, but it would be a nice surprise for his friend.

She needed it.

* * *

_Well, that was the chapter! I just love Leslie and Arthur because I have their whole little story planned out in my head. I guess I adore them because they are completely and totally mine. Surprise appearance by Mickey! Please leave a review (be kind, I am fragile). I would absolutely LOVE more reviews. _

_Stay tuned because soon the adventures will begin, the plot will twist all about, and a certain consulting detective will show up just like I promised he would. _

_Until next time. xoxox_


	7. Between You and Me

_Note from author: Hello there! Long time no see. I am SO sorry it took so long to update (especially with this short of a chapter), but I went on vacation for a few weeks. I hope you can forgive me. I apologize for any errors in this chapter (I feel like they are hiding from me this time around. Haha). Hopefully you will enjoy it. As always, I do not own any BBC Sherlock or Doctor Who characters. Thank you for reading. I love you all so much. _

* * *

"I'll see you after the ceremony. Okay. Are you sure you don't want to go to that party with your friends afterwards? Alright. Fine, if you say so. I love you too, Molly. See you then. Bye, bye."

Sydney hung up the phone and made her way towards her daughter's closet.

Molly was already at the school, waiting for graduation to begin, and had requested that her mother bring her favorite jumper for after the ceremony.

The closet was very neat, but the jumper was not there.

Ms. Hooper hiked her dress up a bit and dropped to the floor, searching underneath the bed for the missing article of clothing. "Aha!" She exclaimed and pulled it out from its hiding place. Now she could finally leave the house.

Sydney grabbed her purse and headed towards the door.

When she opened it, she found herself face-to-face with a strange man wearing a pinstripe suit and trainers.

"Hello." She chirped, obviously a little surprised to see him standing on her front porch. He looked familiar, she thought.

"Hi," A smile spread across his face. He looked very sad, almost like the entire weight of the world was sitting on his shoulders, weighing him down.

"I was hoping to see Molly. Is Molly home?" His question seemed almost desperate.

Now Sydney remembered where she had seen him before. He was the man who had escorted Molly to prom instead of Tyler.

"I'm sorry, but she's already at the school. It's graduation day."

Suddenly his eyes lit up with curiosity and the sadness was gone.

"Graduation? What's the date, then? You see, I thought- How long ago was the prom?"

"About two weeks ago." She offered him one of her comforting smiles; the ones he thought were enough to create world peace.

"So, you are going to the graduation now?" The Doctor inquired.

"Yes, why? Do you need a ride? Maybe you could see Molly after the ceremony." She suggested as he glanced down at a white envelope in his hand.

"No, I couldn't. I don't want to intrude."

"Nonsense! There's room in my car."

The Doctor simply shook his head and crumpled the envelope into a ball.

Sydney's smile fell. "Come on, Toby. Molly would love seeing you there." Her voice was calm, but her words surprised him.

"Did you just call me Toby?" He asked, his brows furrowing.

"That is your name isn't it?"

"But how did you-"

"We'll discuss it in the car. Come on now, hurry up. Don't want to be late." She motioned towards the vehicle, and then they both got in, he was too curious to leave now.

Once the doors were shut and the seat belts were on the Doctor stared questioning her again.

"I remembered you." She began. "When you came to Molly's birthday party that first time I thought you looked familiar. Later I remembered when Nathan hired a plumber. You didn't just resemble that other man, you looked exactly like him. You had the same name too. Now you look completely different. I only figured it was you because I heard Molly and Leslie talking about the dance, and I saw pictures. Believe me when I say that I don't understand anything about you, but I now you're a good man. You've been good to my family, so I obviously trust you."

There was a short moment of silence when Ms. Hooper finished.

"You're brilliant." Her friend marveled, "You put all that together on your own?"

She nodded proudly.

"What about Rose?" Sydney asked curiously and glanced to the passenger seat before adding, "She can come too. There's still time to pick her up. Molly would be thrilled. She thinks the world of her."

All of the sudden the sadness in the Doctor's eyes returned.

She immediately began apologizing, understanding that Rose was somehow connected to what was troubling him.

"No, no." He replied, trying to reassure her that she had done nothing wrong. "Rose isn't traveling with me anymore; she's gone."

"Oh, dear." Ms. Hooper frowned, "I'm sorry."

She obviously did not know how gone Rose was, but it upset her to know that she would not see the girl again. The two had spent a lot of time together when the Doctor and his companion stayed with the Hoopers many years ago.

"She's not coming back?" She asked, and he quickly shook his head.

"We don't need to mention this to Molly today. I'll tell her, um, later. Yes, later." He sounded desperate again, as if he was begging her not to tell.

Although she did not want to keep this information from her daughter, this day was supposed to be happy so she agreed to keep quiet.

When she asked about the envelope, he told her that it was nothing, and that was the end of that conversation.

Soon they arrived at the school and went to find seats.

It was a very nice ceremony. Some people cried while others, especially the students, bounced in their seats excitedly. All their hard work had finally paid off.

The kids were called up one at a time to receive their diplomas.

The Doctor recognized some of them from prom.

Leslie got hers, and Arthur got one too.

He cheered for each of them, but he and Ms. Hooper cheered the loudest for their little Molly.

He beamed with pride for his friend's accomplishment, and that old bittersweet emotion started tugging at his hearts again. She looked so grown up in her cap and gown.

Sydney, on the other hand, was not able to control her emotions and cried as her daughter walked across the stage.

Afterwards, a large mob of people, mostly parents trying to reach their children, formed.

Molly and Sydney tried to find each other.

Ms. Hooper thought the Doctor was following her, but once she reached Molly, he was gone.

The same exact thing happened when Molly graduated from college.

However, the Doctor did not sit with Sydney that time. She only saw him standing in the back.

She never understood why he always left so quickly without seeing Molly, so she never told her of his presence.

Perhaps he was afraid to face her without Rose by his side.

At least he cared enough to be there, she thought.

* * *

_Well, that was the chapter! Next one will be more eventful, I promise. Spoilers: Molly is all grown up. I hope this was okay. Again, thank you for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing. It means the world to me. Until next time. xoxox_


	8. Closets, Coffee, and Corpses

_Note from author: Hello everyone! I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. I feel terrible. I would like to thank all of you for continuing to follow, favorite, review, and read. It really means so much to me. I'd also like to apologize for any errors in this chapter. I hope it's alright! I hope you enjoy it. As always, I do not own any BBC Sherlock or Doctor Who characters. _

* * *

Molly shuffled around her little flat, grabbing this and that and trying to get to work.

It was an ungodly hour of the morning, but she was determined to beat him there.

He would not break into her morgue this time, she swore to herself as she locked the door behind her.

Almost every morning she would get to work, and he would already be there, looking through the paperwork and sometimes even at the bodies.

Well, not this morning!

It was a bit of journey from her flat to St. Bart's hospital, so she woke up extra early in preparation for the mission.

Molly even decided not to stop to get her usual morning coffee.

After taking the tube and stumbling through a small crowd of people, the young pathologist finally reached her destination. There were not a lot of people around at this hour other than those who had night shifts and the security, so it was strangely quiet.

When Molly entered the morgue, her lips stretched into a victorious grin. There was absolutely no sign of Sherlock Holmes.

To be honest, she actually enjoyed having him around most of the time. However, he needed to understand that this was her territory. She had to gain at least a little respect from the consulting detective. He was definitely not one to give it away freely.

With a small yawn, she sat down at her desk and got to work. She still had time before her shift technically had to begin, but Molly decided that there was no harm in getting ahead.

A few hours later, there was a noise at the door. Someone was trying to turn the doorknob, but could not because Molly had locked it earlier.

She glanced towards the door, already knowing who it was, and grinned.

A few clicks later and Sherlock swung the door open.

The consulting detective realized what he had walked into a moment too late, but chose to play it cool.

Molly had rehearsed a speech all night for this occasion, but her mind went blank as soon as she saw him standing there.

"Good morning." He said stiffly.

"Oh, good morning, Sherlock. I, sorry, I thought I locked the door."

"You did. I asked someone to open it."

Ask someone to open it my arse, she thought. He was a notorious lock picker.

Molly meant to say all of that aloud, but all that came out was an apology for locking the door.

"Not a problem. Actually, it was. I'll need to see the freshest body you have."

They stared at each other for a moment before Molly scurried away to fetch a body.

As she did, Molly asked him about his day. He told her that it was terribly boring, obviously, because he was not officially on another case yet.

A few minutes later, she returned with what he had asked for.

She watched as he opened the bag and inspected the specimen.

"How fresh?" He inquired after sniffing the air.

"Just in. Sixty-seven, natural causes. He used to work here. I knew him. He was nice." She smiled softly at the memories that crossed her mind.

Sherlock zipped up the bag.

"Fine. We'll start with the riding crop."

The next thing she knew Sherlock was in the other room beating the corpse with his crop.

Molly watched for a while, but it turns out a person can only watch a man strike a dead body so many times before it gets old. He seemed on edge about something, most likely the suicide case. Lestrade would not let him near it yet, and Sherlock was itching to get his hands in it.

When all was quiet, she entered the room.

"So, bad day was it?" She asked with a cheerful smile.

Instead of an answer, he shot off a list of instructions for her.

"Listen, I was wondering…" Molly began after making a mental note of what he said, "Later, when you're finished-"

"Are you wearing lipstick? You weren't wearing lipstick before." He interrupted.

Before coming in she had put it on, hoping he would like it. "I, uh, I refreshed it a bit."

He glanced over her skeptically before changing the subject, "Sorry, you were saying?"

Molly took in a small breath, hoping it would provide the courage she needed to ask him. "I was wondering if you would like to have coffee."

Sherlock finally stopped writing on his notepad. "Black, two sugars, please. I'll be upstairs."

As he walked away, she managed to squeak out something resembling an okay.

"Coffee." She muttered under her breath as she fixed the cup. "All he wants is the coffee." Once again she managed to embarrass herself.

With a sigh, Molly set the cup down and wiped her mouth clean with a napkin. There was no point in keeping the lipstick on. He clearly did not care for it.

When she was done, Molly carried the mug upstairs.

She entered the lab and found that Sherlock was no longer alone.

One of the men she recognized as Mike Stamford from another area of the hospital. The other one, however, was new and he had that look on his face that told her he had never met Sherlock before.

The look, or "Sher-shock" as Molly liked to call it, was the expression that appeared on a person's face when meeting Sherlock Holmes for the first time. This man was not the first to experience it, and definitely not the last either.

The pathologist enjoyed watching people try to process just what was happening, but kept her head down in an attempt not to appear nosy, and handed the cup to Sherlock.

"Ah, Molly! Coffee. Thank you. What happened to the lipstick?" He inquired curiously.

"It wasn't working for me." She chirped in response.

"Really? I thought it was a big improvement." He took a sip of his coffee and returned to the microscope before continuing, "Your mouth is too small now."

She was frozen for a moment, replied with another okay, and then retreated to the morgue.

Sometimes she wondered why she even tried.

"Work." Molly told herself encouragingly, "Work will take your mind off of it." Just as she was about to begin, she heard a strange noise. It sounded like it was coming from the supply closet, but when she went to investigate the sound stopped.

Molly stood in front of the door, debating on whether she should go inside or not. But before a decision was reached, the closet door swung open and the Doctor stepped out. His glasses were lopsided and he seemed disorientated.

Molly was too excited to notice.

Her face lit up and she threw her arms around him. "Doctor!" She rejoiced.

It took the Doctor a minute to realize what was happening; it had been a very bumpy ride and parking the TARDIS in a closet was not easy, but he was able to return her hug quickly.

"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in ages." Molly asked.

"It hasn't been that long has it? Wow, look at you. You're so grown up." He marveled, pulling out of the hug.

A blush spread across her face. "The last time I saw you was at my high school prom. Believe me, it's been years. I work here at Bart's hospital now."

"Oh, that was a while ago, then, wasn't it?"

Molly simply nodded.

Suddenly the Doctor got very excited. "Are you working now?"

"Yes, but I could take a break."

"Excellent! Tell me, Molly, would you like to go on an adventure?"

The pathologist's jaw dropped.

When she was little, he told her stories of his adventures with Rose. He also told her that when she was older he would take her with them.

"Do you mean?" Molly was unable finish her question, but she did not have to.

The Doctor simply offered her his.

She took it immediately, causing him to grin from ear to ear. Then he led her back to the supply closet, and finally into the TARDIS.

"It really is bigger on the inside." Molly gasped. For her it was like living a dream, and she could not stop smiling.

The Doctor was practically beaming as he watched her take it all in. "Welcome to the TARDIS, Molly Hooper."

* * *

_That was the chapter! Sherlock is finally here, and now the Sherlolly can begin. And Molly is traveling with the Doctor too! So much can happen now. I hope you guys liked it. Keep reading. 3 I love you all. xoxox _


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